3031 or Varget
- snaketail2
- AAA Poster
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 8:55 am
- Location: Rockport,Tx
3031 or Varget
Time to buy powder. My 30-30 has been fed 3031 most of its life. But the LGS has Varget in stock.
I understand they are similar, but it there an advantage to Varget?
M
I understand they are similar, but it there an advantage to Varget?
M
Overheard at the Dairy Queen "I live in Port Aransas,but I'm not from here...you can tell because I have all my own teeth."
-
- AA Poster
- Posts: 275
- Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:40 pm
- Location: Ft. Laramie
Re: 3031 or Varget
Varget is slower than 3031, more comparable to 4064. I tend to like the slower powders in the 30-30, but 3031 is never a bad choice
-
- Distinguished Master Poster w/Palms
- Posts: 2329
- Joined: Sun May 08, 2011 3:06 pm
Re: 3031 or Varget
748.... (only because I have a 8# can of it I bought off a estate and I'll be loading that stuff till I die....)
Emmett Dibble, Houston, Texas. Where's my buddy Jason? Keeper of electronic records and banisher of little pieces of paper?
- Another Dang 9
- Master Poster
- Posts: 1333
- Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:24 pm
- Location: The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts
Re: 3031 or Varget
I've been using H322 in my 30-30 with good results.
Its a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing milk bone underwear.
NRA Endowment Member
NRA Endowment Member
- Jason
- Uber Master Poster
- Posts: 3002
- Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:36 pm
- Location: Snohomish, WA
Re: 3031 or Varget
I like the slower powders in 30-30 for silhouette, also. My rifles have 24" or 26" barrels, so there's no point in using a faster powder that gets less velocity and produces sharper recoil. If I were loading for a 16" barrel carbine for hunting, it might be a different story. I also load ammo and use in a big range of temperatures across the whole year, so theoretically Varget would have the advantage of being more temperature stable since it's one of the Hodgdon Extreme series of powders. I haven't done any testing myself to see if there's less velocity difference than other powders, though. I found a few good loads with Varget and then just loaded up a bunch of ammo. Varget seems to be the most common powder in use at our local matches, but with the very large targets we shoot in lever action silhouette nearly anything that gets decent velocity without terrible accuracy will work.
If you pick up some Varget, here's a thread with a bunch of load data in it.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12598
Edit: I've also considered trying to work up 30-30 loads for lever action with IMR 4166, one of the relatively new Enduron powders. It's slightly faster burn rate than Varget with the same claimed temperature stability plus copper fouling reduction like CFE 223. I have most of a pound of IMR 4166 after trying it out in my 260 Rem for high power silhouette, but I have so much Varget and I already have good 30-30 Varget loads that there just isn't enough incentive to work up new loads with IMR 4166. If you're working up new loads anyway, you may want to try IMR 4166 if it's in stock locally.
If you pick up some Varget, here's a thread with a bunch of load data in it.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12598
Edit: I've also considered trying to work up 30-30 loads for lever action with IMR 4166, one of the relatively new Enduron powders. It's slightly faster burn rate than Varget with the same claimed temperature stability plus copper fouling reduction like CFE 223. I have most of a pound of IMR 4166 after trying it out in my 260 Rem for high power silhouette, but I have so much Varget and I already have good 30-30 Varget loads that there just isn't enough incentive to work up new loads with IMR 4166. If you're working up new loads anyway, you may want to try IMR 4166 if it's in stock locally.
- Tlee
- AAA Poster
- Posts: 679
- Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 9:55 am
- Location: Where Bob Wills is still the King
- Contact:
Re: 3031 or Varget
I’ve yet to see 31-33gr of Varget behind any 125-170gr jacket not shoot 1 to 2 MOA in any decent 30/30 Lever Action. Although I’ve seen it shoot good, I’ve never seen 3031 or 4064 shoot quite that well in a such a large variety of rifles and projectiles.
I’ve only tried LeveRevolution in a couple Marlins and it shot very well, albeit both were using max loads with Hornady 160gr FTXs.... and that’s not a legal projectile for CLA.
My .02,
- Tim
I’ve only tried LeveRevolution in a couple Marlins and it shot very well, albeit both were using max loads with Hornady 160gr FTXs.... and that’s not a legal projectile for CLA.
My .02,
- Tim
- Ojaileveraction
- A Poster
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Mon May 22, 2017 5:32 pm
- Location: Ventura California
Re: 3031 or Varget
Varget will give you better fill percentage and lower pressures at higher velocities.
Tim
Guns, They're not really yours, until you void the warranty.
Guns, They're not really yours, until you void the warranty.
-
- B Poster
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2016 4:11 pm
Re: 3031 or Varget
Never tried 3031. My guns (26" Winchesters) like RL15 better than Varget. Then I tried IMR4166. Yummy!
- Jason
- Uber Master Poster
- Posts: 3002
- Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:36 pm
- Location: Snohomish, WA
-
- A Poster
- Posts: 145
- Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 7:48 pm
- Location: Fort Worth
Re: 3031 or Varget
Most of our local guys use varget, but I'm getting tighter groups out of my rifle with H4895.
-
- B Poster
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2016 4:11 pm
Re: 3031 or Varget
With 150gr Sierra flat nose, I'm just a hair under the starting load published in the Hodgdon reloading guide. Easy to shoot, accurate, and topples rams. I also use a very light charge under the 125gr flat nose for pickens and chigs. It's remarkably accurate despite leaving a lot of unburnt powder.